<p>“I can think of many examples of kids who did the paid-for-by-rich-parents junkets, <em>and</em> who were successful in their college acceptances. But there is a double correllation here- do they get a leg up because they went on the 4 week/ 6 week/ 8 week whatever…Or because they’re rich? Seriously.”</p>
<p>1.With the exception of admitting star athletes, most colleges do admissions virtually exclusively by the stats. If ECs count for anything, they count for merit aid.</p>
<ol>
<li>For the very top colleges that have such an overabundance of stellar applicants that the colleges get to select students based in part on who will best help contribute to a diverse campus with hundreds of student-run active ECs, certainly some students get in who have participated in those paid “community service” junkets. Having done such trips aren’t going to get students autorejected by such colleges. However, those experiences aren’t going to get the students accepted either unless the student did something unusual like worked to raise the money to go on the trip.</li>
</ol>
<p>And the student would need to be extremely wealthy – such as having parents capable of making 7 figure donations – for a student to get tipped in because of wealth.</p>